From below:
Although EVs do not release carbon dioxide during their use
NB: Assuming that one considers the charging of the batteries in an
electric vehicle (EV) to be "use", then the source of the electrical
power to charge the EV can have consequences: greenhouse gases,
including carbon dioxide, from carbon-fueled power plants; or nuclear
waste from fission reactors, including the Gates-Buffet "mini clean"
reactors. However, all of the battery issues mentioned below (as well
as the electric motor issues -- recycling an electric motor) are accurate.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/electric-vehicles-certainly-do-pollute-their-battery-packs-are-poised-to-be-one-of-the-biggest-new-sources-of-pollution-11634577011?siteid=yhoof2
MarketWatch
Your Digital Self
Opinion: Electric vehicles certainly are dirty — their battery packs are
poised to be one of the biggest new sources of pollution
Last Updated: Oct. 18, 2021 at 4:47 p.m. ET
First Published: Oct. 18, 2021 at 1:09 p.m. ET
By Jurica Dujmovic
The industry crucially needs regulation over recycling
A worker recycles an electric-vehicle battery in France. (Photo by ERIC
PIERMONT/AFP via Getty Images)
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said this year it’s expecting 145
million electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide by 2030. If governments ramp
up efforts to meet international energy and climate goals, the number
could soar even higher — up to 230 million — and that’s not counting
two- and three-wheel vehicles.
That’s a lot of new cars to hit global markets. Also … a lot of batteries.
Although EVs do not release carbon dioxide during their use, their
production (and that of batteries) exerts the same toll on the
environment as that of conventional cars, while the recycling of
lithium-ion batteries poses unique challenges.
Lithium-ion batteries are bulkier and take more space than their
traditional counterpart, lead-acid batteries. To make matters worse,
they’re highly flammable and even explosive if dismantled incorrectly.
In the next 10 to 15 years, there will be millions of end-of-life
electric cars worldwide; by that time, recycling plants need to be ready
not only to take in all those batteries, reclaim valuable parts and
metals, but also to properly dispose of the waste. Sadly, not much is
being done on that front: Currently, only 5% of all Li-ion batteries are
being recycled.
If no action is taken, battery waste could become a big problem not only
for the car industry, but also for the environment.
How big? If an average car battery pack weighs 550 pounds, 100 million
cars would produce about 55 billion pounds — 28 million tons — of
battery waste that needs recycling. And we can expect a big portion of
that waste to accumulate by 2040 if the IEAs’ projections are even
partially correct.
Water pollution
Although Li-ion batteries are classified by the federal government as
non-hazardous waste and are safe for disposal in the normal municipal
waste stream, several studies have shown they can contaminate the water.
Nowadays, a lot of recycling is “informal” — it often occurs in less
developed, rural areas and without proper supervision or protective
measures in place.
With these kind of operations, there’s a high probability of lithium
seeping into the water supply. A similar situation occurs in highly
developed areas where people improperly dispose of consumer electronics,
which are more often than not powered by Li-ion batteries. Finally, it’s
not just lithium that can contaminate soil and groundwater. Nickel,
cobalt, manganese and other metals found in EV batteries pose an even
greater threat than lithium to both human life and the ecosystem.
The majority of material in EV car batteries can be recycled and reused,
which in itself is an economic argument for extraction; extracting
materials, especially metals, cobalt and nickel, from the old battery
housing in order to be reused in a new batch is a procedure that can
significantly reduce manufacturing costs. This is due to the fact that
almost 50% of a battery’s cost comes from those metals alone.
Interestingly, one way of extracting metals from the batteries —
smelting — is identical to extracting metal from ores but without the
added environmental harm that comes with mining.
So, why aren’t more batteries recycled? The reason is that recycling
plants don’t get much for scrap — about $100 per ton. This is by far
superseded by logistics costs involved in collecting, sorting and
transporting it.
Finally, to make enough batteries, we would need to triple the current
production rates for lithium, graphite, nickel and manganese. An
aggressive recycling regimen is absolutely necessary to meet increased
demand for these materials and limit the environmental damage caused by
mining.
Europe’s response
As with many other things, the European Union wants to tackle the
problem with regulation. Proposed legislation seeks to place an
increased regulatory burden on manufacturers, producers, importers and
distributors of batteries that will need to take multiple steps to
ensure compliance.
The document outlines significant new requirements covering
manufacturing, design, labelling, collection and recycling throughout
the battery life cycle for all battery types. It further states: “These
measures have the potential to have a substantial impact on the market
for batteries in the EU, improving sustainability, circularity and
transparency across the product value chain.”
Although it has potential, the plan is not without significant flaws. It
may put European manufacturers at a disadvantage compared to Chinese and
U.S. counterparts. This may stifle innovation, inflate prices and slow
adoption, putting into question Europe’s EV-proliferation plans.
However, there is some merit to those efforts, as manufacturers — at
least those in Europe — are responding.
Nissan NSANY, +0.87% is reusing its old Leaf batteries to fuel factory
vehicles. Volkswagen VWAGY, -0.58% recently opened its own recycling
plant capable of recycling 3,600 battery systems per year. Renault
RNLSY, -0.80% is currently recycling a several hundred batteries a year,
essentially its entire production. Finally, in July, Mercedes DMLRY,
+0.46% unveiled plans to go EV-only by 2030.
Former Tesla engineer’s plans
In the U.S., things are stirring too. JB Straubel, Tesla’s TSLA, -0.67%
former chief technology officer, likes to say that the largest lithium
mine is in the junk drawers of America. His recycling company, Redwood
Materials, recycles scrap and defective battery cells for Envision AESC,
which manufactures batteries for the Nissan Leaf, and Panasonic PCRFY,
-0.30%, which makes cells at Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory. The factory
currently has the capacity to recover enough components to create 45,000
electric car battery packs a year.
In the end, it will all come down to execution. Recycling is a dirty
business in more ways than one, and it will be up to all participants —
from manufacturers to recycling plants and, ultimately, drivers — to
play ball.
If done correctly, we could see recycling efforts offset a good deal of
the ecological and economical cost of EV battery production. If not, the
result could be a situation that’s much worse than the plastic pollution
that’s fouling up oceans.